Swords Of Admiration
by gaarafan0509
Summary: ItachiOC KisameOC 2 of the 7 swordsmen have been spotted and now it's their job to recruit them to the Akatsuki. Kisame has been dying to see 1 and kill the other 1. Im thinking about DeidaraOCHinote. Tell me what you think. Rating will go up.
1. Introduction

Somewhere In The Akatsuki..."Itachi, Kisame, as you may have already heard, 1 of the 7 swordsmen or should I say swords_woman_ of the mist has been spotted in the forests near Konohagakure, your mission is to recruit her, her name is--"

"Jisan no Kouten" Kisame finished smirking. Oh yes the memories that he had of her...she always was quite the feisty young lady, picking fights with me all the time, I have to admit she was a tough opponent, but I always surpassed her slightly, boy did that tick her off more than anything, now that I think about it she was pretty hot, too bad she had to run off with Enkou, she deserves better then that worthless piece of shit, maybe I'll get the chance to finish him off, I'm looking forward to this mission...

"Get the fuck up Hinote!" a woman in her mid-twenties said.

"Must you scream, I'm right here you know!" she said glaring. This sucked, they were being pursued by ANBU.

"I never should have left the damn village to begin with."

Flashback

_Hinote was walking casually through the forest after completing a mission. She suddenly heard the sound of metal on metal. She quickly hid and watched. She observed two people, one woman, one man, they looked to be in their mid twenties, apparently fighting over something_

_"Im sick of this shit Enkou, you're always messing around and getting your ass into trouble, I think it's time we go our separate ways.''_

_"Awww baby you can't do this, I love you."_

_"Mhm just like you loved all those other women you were with when you were with me?''_

_"Wait, how did you--I mean what are you talking about?!?"_

_"I won't say it again, go away, we're through!"_

_"Why you little bitch I'll--"_

_"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I see your passports?" Hinote asked nonchalantly_

_"I've got your passport right here little girl!" Enkou screamed before pointing his blade at her._

_"I'm not trying to fight you, I'm just doing my job as a shinobi to the Leaf Village, now, where are your passports?" she said glaring._

_"I told you, right here!" he screamed as he lunged towards Hinote, swinging his blade slicing her in two...or so he thought. She instantly turned into a log. He looked around trying to find her. He gasped as he felt someone's arms pull him underneath the ground to his chin._

_"Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu?" he screamed."You little wench!"_

_"Well, aren't you a smart boy?"she said sarcastically ."Why must you make this so hard for the both of us, I mean, how immature can you get?'' she asked. Enkou glared, that did it, no one talked to him like that and got away with it. He suddenly ripped himself up out of the ground and charged towards her once again._

_"You'll never learn, will you?" she didn't get a reply. As she continued to dodge his blows she began to think. His skills were top-notch, typical of a swordsman of the Mist, taking him down should be fun. She continued to dodge the blade along with tree branches and such until she came to an open field.'Perfect' she thought. She gained some distance and began a series of hand signs._

_"Katon Housenka!" she screamed as small flames erupted from her mouth towards the man._

_"Suiton Suijinheki!" he replied as a wall of water appeared burning out the flames. But he was unaware of the kunai hidden in the small flames, attached on them were exploding notes. They struck him, pinning him against a tree._

_She smirked,"Boom!" the notes exploded, killing him instantly._

_"Wow, I'm impressed, my name is Jisan no Kouten, and I believe that you have become the next owner of Kattahonoo, would you like to join me in my journey to absolutely nowhere?"_

_"Sure, this village has no future for me anyways." Kouten was suprised at her statement, although she didn't ask.'The girl had her reasons I guess.' She watched as Hinote took out a kunai and slashed a mark on her headband, pronouncing her as an official missing-nin. She noticed one of her teammates in the tree above with his eyes widened._

_"Hey Tsuru, how long have you been there, long enough to see my little act I suppose, well it's no act, I'm leaving that useless village, alert the ANBU, I don't fucking care."she smirked and disappeared with Kouten._

End Flashback

"Awww c'mon can you really say that you're not going to enjoy the bloodshed, plus I know you're dying to try out that new sword of yours." Kouten said smirking.

"Meh, whatever..." Hinote replied as she and Kouten jumped off.

Itachi And Kisame were searching around the forest for the woman when they noticed a group of ANBU a few feet away, they paused to overhear their conversation.

"Sir I've spotted 2 of the swordsmen from the Mist, Jisan No Kouten and Enkou No Makai, Hinote killed Enkou and inheirited Kattahonoo, she is now Kouten's new partner and a missing-nin." Tsuru said panting

"What, you're kidding, how come she wasn't killed when she touched it?"

"I'm assuming that they come from the same clan, its sickening, I always knew that Hinote wasn't trustworthy, she's just like that Uchiha kid, spilling their own blood, its disgusting..." Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"They'd probably be heading towards Mizukagure, now hurry up damn it!" Tsuru yelled and they dispersed.

Itachi And Kisame took off, beating the ANBU to their targets. They stopped when they caught site of two women walking casually through the forest. ''How strange, why would they be walking unless...''Kisame started

"It's a trap." Kouten finished for him with her sword against his throat. When she saw his face, she gasped then smirked.

"Well hello there, long time no see Kis Kis, it's ok Hinote, they're friends" Both Itachi and Kisame were puzzled until seemingly out of now where a young woman appeared, her expression blank.


	2. Meeting

Oh yeah the character descriptions are on my profile, and the disclaimer is there also.

"You must be Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha. It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Hinote Makai." Kisame eyed her suspiciously.

"Did you really kill Enkou?" Kisame asked.

"Of course I did, do you not recognize the giant ass sword on my back.'' Hinote said bluntly.

"How do I know that an ANBU squad didn't kill him, and you just stole it?''

"Honestly, why would I lie about something like that, yes I killed my brother and yes this is my sword now, I earned it, but if you don't believe me, I'll show you as soon as I learn to control the damn thing." she replied. It was silent for a while until Itachi broke it.

"ANBU, 8 of them.'' Itachi suddenly spoke. The other 3 looked confused.

''What is he--, wait this is the same genjutsu technique that we used on our last mission, it's an ambush. If I remember correctly, there should be 3 to the left, 3 to the right, and 2 in the trees somewhere.'' She discretely threw 8 kunai, cloaked in her own genjutsu, hitting somewhere near the ANBU in hiding, she also attached exploding notes to them.

"Ok, here they come!" She said as she unsheathed her new blade."BOOM!" she said as the hidden kunai exploded, suprising the ANBU, they released their genjutsu allowing them to be seen by Kouten, Kisame, and Hinote.(Itachi already knew where they were.) Itachi went after 3, Kisame went after 2, Kouten went after 2, and Hinote went after 1. As expected they had no trouble killing them, Itachi being as fast as he is, Kisame being as aggressive as he is, Kouten being as enthusiastic as she is, and Hinote being as willing to try out her new sword. She learned something new about Kattahonoo, if it touches the enemy's blood, a dark red flame ignites burning the person to death.

"Did you do that, Hinote?" Kouten asked.

"No, the sword did, by itself." she replied suprised. "Are you saying that you haven't ever seen Enkou do that before?"

"Yeah, I've seen him kill with it, but I've never seen the flames, that's weird."

"Meh, whatever, as long as I can kill with it, I really don't care.''

"Ok now that that's over with, I would like to invite you to join the Akatsuki." Kisame said. Kouten looked at Hinote who gave a short nod.

"Ok, yeah we accept.'' Kisame nodded and they took off towards the Akatsuki headquarters. Shortly after arriving, the girls were sent to meet their new leader.

They walked into some sort of dining room area. There were chairs surrounding the table and there was one chair towards the back, completely hidden in the shadows. All you could see were two red eyes glowing through the darkness. They both felt intimidated but didn't let it show.

"So if I'm correct, you are Kouten No Jisan." Kouten nodded.

"And you are you?'' The leader said questioningly at Hinote.

"My name is Hinote Makai, sister of Enkou, whom I killed, and claimed his sword Kattahonoo for my own. I am Kouten's traveling partner. May I join with her?'' Hinote replied. The leader was a shocked that someone so young could take down Enkou, not to mention she was a girl. (yes the leader is sexist XD)

"Very well, your rooms are located directly across Itachi and Kisame's, your uniforms are there as well, if you have any questions, find them, be free to walk around. You are dismissed."

"Hai." they both said and walked out.

"Now what do we do?" Kouten asked.

"I don't know, he said we were free to walk around so let's do that, besides we have to find Kisame or Itachi to figure out where our rooms are."


	3. Welcome to The Akatsuki!

Chapter 3

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention the ages:

Kisame-29

Kouten-25

Hinote-17

Itachi-18

They began walking around the Akatsuki when they reached the living room (i dont know what the akatsuki looks like so yeah...im just gunna make stuff up) where they heard two guys fighting over...art?

"Art is transient, departing quickly!" a man with long blonde hair said. He had it tied in a high ponytail with a curtain of bangs covering his left eye. He also had a slightly feminine appearance.

"No, fine art is something wonderful that's left long into the future!" argued another man with reddish-brown hair. Kouten giggled at their childishness. The giggle caught their attention as they stopped and turned around, and stared. Kouten began to feel a little uncomfortable so she spoke first.

"Hello my name is Kouten No Jisan, and I 've just been recruited by Kisame and Itachi, I was one of Kisame's former teammates back in the day."

"And I'm Hinote Makai, brother of Enkou Makai, also recruited by Kisame and Itachi." The man with the blonde hair spoke next.

"My name's Deidara, yeah." he said as he kissed Hinote's hand. She turned away and blushed. Deidara smirked at this.The other man spoke.

"Sasori. And if I were you I'd get a uniform because some people here kill then ask questions later." Then he walked off somewhere. Now they were left with Deidara.

"Hey Deidara, have you seen Itachi or Kisame around here? we need to find our rooms." Hinote asked.

"They left on a mission a couple minutes ago, so they'll be back later, yeah. But, I can show you to your rooms."

"Thanks, he said they were across from Kisame's and Itachi's rooms."

They continued down the hallway and took a left, the hallway was lined with doors. Each had the name of an Akatsuki member on it, except for the last two on the right, which were blank.

"You two got the last rooms, good for you, yeah." Deidara said. "If you need anything my room is right next to yours, ok Hinote-chan?" Hinote blushed again.

"Ok, later Deidara-chan." she said smiling and closed the door.

She flipped on the light and found a normal sized room. It had plain white carpet with black walls a twin sized bed with black sheets, a dresser, a desk and chair, a door that lead to her and Kouten's bathroom, along with a full-length mirror attached to another door that lead into a small yet spacious closet. In the closet were at least 5 or 6 Akatsuki uniforms. She took one out. It was the skimpiest thing she had ever seen.(i have a pic in my pro) It consisted of a skirt that split all the way to the top (like Ino's) with red clouds on it.They also had bandages for underneath it. The top consisted of a mid-driff with one button going across the chest with baggy black sleeves, along with a long sleeved fishnet shirt that ended just past the bottom of the shirt. She stared in the mirror in disgust at the revealing clothing. She then walked over to Kouten's room to hear her complaining as well.

"You do realize that we are not going to be taken seriously as ninja because of these outfits." Hinote said.

"Oh well, hopefully they have the brains not to mess with us." Kouten said smiling. "I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat."

"I remembered passing by a kitchen somewhere, I think it was that way." Kouten said. They continued walking until Hinote realized that they were going in circles. She stopped.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Hinote said sighing." I thought you said thar you knew where you were going."

"I thought I did, too.''Kouten said sticking out her tongue shamefully."Oops."

"Oops is right damn it! Now we're hungry AND lost. Way to go Kouten." Hinote said as she slid down the wall and sat there glaring at her.


	4. Hinote's Past

Chapter 4

"Don't you think its weird that the leader let me join so easily?"

"Well, I mean, you killed Enkou, that should be reason enough, shouldn't it?"

"I don't know, I didn't even have to prove my strength to him. Plus, I didn't get a ring like you did, everyone here was wearing one."

"I wouldn't worry too much, trust me about it."

"Trust. What an interesting word." she said sadly. Kouten noticed her change in behavior, she looked at her headband, in truth, ever since Hinote slashed it without any second thoughts, she'd been curious as to what made her leave her village so quickly.

"By the way you're looking at me, you want to know something, right?"

"Uhhhhh...yeah please, I'm curious, about your past."Kouten said.

"Fine, it all started when I was three, my parents took me to a fortune teller to find out about my future. The teller told my parents that I was going to betray the village. She didn't tell them when. With my parents, being two of the most skilled and loyal shinobi to the Leaf Village, took the fortune as a joke, they never acknowledged it that it would come true, so they kept me from knowing about it. I returned to the fortune teller to get my fortune told as a present for my 16th birthday."

Flashback

_"C'mon you should go get your fortune told, I found out all about who I'm going to marry, and how many kids I'll have. Here, consider it your birthday present." Hinote couldn't say no because, after all, it was a gift, plus it would be fun to laugh at. They arrived at the place and Hinote entered. As she walked in she felt an ominous aura surround her, as if something horrible were about to happen. There was a small plate over a fire along with a separate plate of animal bones. But she saw no one._

_"Welcome child, nice to see that you have returned." the old woman said slyly._

_"Excuse me lady, but what are you talking about, this is my first time here."Hinote looked confused. The old woman's expression changed from a happy one to a sad one._

_"What's wrong?" Hinote asked_

_"Do you really want to know?"_

_"Of course I do, what's going on?"_

_"Your parents brought you here when you were three to look at your future. I told them that you were going to leave the village and everyone in it. They just shrugged it off and laughed. So I'm assuming that they didn't tell you." Hinote gasped at this._

_"You're lying, they wouldn't hide something like that from me, they're my parents, they're suppost to tell me everything!" she said angrily._

_"Haven't you ever wondered why people are always watching you?" When she thought about it, she always had at least one Jounin following her. She thought that it was just her parents being overprotective._

_"Although you're parents did not believe me, many people did, including the Hokage who's been watching you ever since." Hinote growled, she was pissed._

_"Did they have THAT little trust in me, they couldn't just tell me up front what I was destined to do!" she said to herself. "Was what I thought protection actually a precaution if I had tried anything?" she was angered at the VIllage. They had already done something like this before, Naruto Uzumaki, the host of the Kyuubi, also the hero of the Village. And yet no one realized this due to the neglect of the Hokage. He was hated by everyone, and for what reason? People judged him by the past. Just like they hate her, because of waht she will eventually do."_

End Flashback

"So I never had the trust of the village. They already knew I was going to leave. Would they try and stop me, even if they did the fortune said that I would leave the village completely at one point or another. So even if I pledged my loyalty to the Village, they still wouldn't trust me. I'm trapped in a never ending circle. That is, of course unless I leave, and I know that they will not try to find me, it's useless to do so. Get it?"


	5. The Question Answered

"I don't blame you." Kouten said sadly.

"I just hope I did the right thing." Hinote replied.

"Trust me it's hard being a missing nin, but you're lucky that you were picked up so quickly." Kouten replied with a sad smile.

"Yeah, I suppose, I'm glad you finally get a break after all those years." An anime vein popped up on Kouten's forehead as she heard that statement.

"Are you inferring that I'm _OLD_?!?" Kouten growled with fists clenched at her side.

"Not at all, seeing as you act my age." Hinote said giggling.

"Well I'm only 25 ya know!" Kouten said pouting playfully. Hinote laughed.

"So how old are you?"

"I'm 17." Hinote said.

"WHAT!?!YOU'RE ONLY 17,YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE IN YOUR TWENTIES!" Kouten said flipping out.

"Yeah, I'm not lying, I think it's the hair." Hinote said thoughtfully.

"Well you sure do act it, as a matter of fact, I think you're more mature than I am." Kouten said scratching her head.

"I choose to be, as a shinobi I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let my emotions get me hurt. I just wanted to be a normal kid and enjoy my childhood, but it's no use when everyone is so weary around you. I was enlisted into ANBU at 14, so I was forced to grow up quite fast, so I never got to enjoy being a kid." she said.

"Well, since we're still stuck here, I wanna ask you something." Kouten said as her expression quickly changed to one of seriousness. Hinote lent in as Kouten whispered something in her ear. Hinote's eyes widened and she began to blush as Kouten smirked.

"Well?" Kouten asked impatiently.


	6. Wake up time!

HAHA!!! Cliffie!!! Ok I can only update every two weeks because I don't have my computer anymore and so I have to use my dad's in which I go to every two weeks so I'll try to put up as much as possible.

R&R and thanks to the people that did

Should it be HinotexDeidara or HinotexItachi??? And thanks Crystalline Dream for the guess. I think I'm actually gunna put that there. I've got it all figured out now.

VOTE!!!!!

Itachi-1

Deidara-0

Chapter 6

"So are you or not?" Kouten asked.

"Yes I am." Hinote said back feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Don't feel bad about it, sex is overrated anyway."

"Is it really?" Hinote asked curiously.

"It's pretty much meaningless without actual love. Too bad I didn't learn that until after it was too late. Damn you Enkou!" she cursed to herself. "Hinote, be careful with men. They WILL hurt you and they'll feel no remorse about it either." she said seriously.

"Now what makes you say such a thing." Kisame suddenly interrupted. They both turned around to find Itachi and Kisame. Kisame was staring at Kouten, well not exactly at her, but more as to what she was wearing. He didn't even notice that she had gotten up, and began walking towards him. He was just standing there in his little fantasy world when he got slapped. HARD.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for!" Kisame asked now out of his daze.

"Being a perve!" she replied with her arms crossed. Hinote let out a small giggle, which caught the attention of Itachi who looked at her. She stopped and stared back. They just stared at each other for a while until Kouten spoke.

"Ok, you two are creeping me out, so can we just go back to our rooms and get some sleep?" Kouten asked.

"Sure, whatever." Hinote had responded while yawning. She got up and stretched unaware of Itachi's roaming eyes. They all set off towards their rooms.

"Goodnight, Itachi-san." Hinote said.

"Goodnight Hinote-san." Itachi replied, which really surprised her. But it didn't bother her. It actually put a smile on her face. They all went into their rooms and got some rest.

Hinote was sleeping peacefully until she heard a knock on her door. It was Itachi.

"Who is it?" she asked groggily.

"Get up. It's time for training." Hinote looked at her alarm clock. It said 4:30 a.m.

"No you bastard, it's time to go back to fucking sleep and leave me alone." She said putting her head in her pillow. Wrong move…. All of a sudden the door was kicked down. Hinote jumped at the sudden noise and sat up glaring at him. Itachi walked over to her, his sharingan glowing menacingly through the darkness.

"Why'd the hell did you do that for?" she asked while pointing to the door.

"You are not to speak to me like that ever again, or there will be consequences." He said will no emotion what so ever.-That is so creepy- Hinote thought to herself. -I wonder how long he can keep up this little mask of his- Hinote decided to toy with him.

"Consequences you say? That doesn't scare me at all. If you excuse me, I'm going back to sleep now. Oh, and I want that door fixed ASAP." She added smirking. Itachi was surprised at this type of behavior; it had been a while since anyone had the nerve to speak to him like that. He was actually amused by this girl. He let a small smirk form on his face.-sexy and entertaining, you don't come across that often- He was actually thinking about leaving her be, but then he remembered the leader's orders.

Flashback

"_What is it?" Itachi's voice echoed in the dark room._

"_That girl, Hinote. How well does she fight?"_

"_I have not seen her. So I cannot say."_

"_Fight her. See if she's capable of being a member. If not, kill her."_


	7. Pass Or Die!

-thoughts-

speech

Chapter 7

"I'm sorry but I can't do that. My orders are to determine if you're worthy of joining us. I will not ask again. Come with me."

"Now that you mentioned that, sure I'd love to come." She replied over enthusiastically. Itachi caught the sarcasm and glared.

"You have five minutes." He said as he walked out the door (or should I say, large, rectangular hole in the wall) She grabbed a uniform out of her closet and went into the bathroom to change. She brushed her hair and left the room. As she walked out of her room she saw Itachi waiting for her. They continued down the hallway until they reached the training area. Hinote saw Kouten, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori along with three other members she had yet to meet. She also saw the leader.

"Great. More freaks." Hinote mumbled under her breath.

"Good morning, Hinote-chan!" screamed Deidara.

"Morning." She replied. He then noticed her clothing and began to drool.

"I'd close your mouth if I were you." Kisame told him.

"You're one to talk." Kouten said haughtily. Kisame was about to reply when Hinote interrupted.

"Do any of you mind telling me why everyone is here?"

"To see you fight, obviously." Sasori replied bluntly.

"Did I ask you?" she said glaring.

"No. But it doesn't matter. As for your tone, Itachi is your opponent, not me. So take your anger elsewhere." He said irritated.

"I hope something sets you on fire."-Or should I say some_one_- she said smirking as she walked back to Itachi. The leader suddenly spoke.

"As you probably already know, you are going to face Itachi for the right to join."

"That's insane. Why him of all people! She just got that sword, how the hell do you expect her to even stand a chance against him!" Kouten shouted.

"Thanks for the support Kouten." Hinote replied sweat dropping. "Although she does have a point, why did you choose for me to fight the strongest member?"

"Do not question my methods." He glared.

"Whatever, it's not like it matters anyway." She said as she unsheathed her blade and held it in front of her in an offensive stance.

"You may begin." The leader said. Hinote made the first move by charging towards Itachi who simply stood there. She attempted to slice him in half only to find it was just a clone.-Like I wasn't expecting that- she thought.

"Ok, now where are you now?" she asked herself as she looked around.

"Behind you!" Kouten suddenly screamed.

"Wha--?" Hinote had no time to react as she was kicked in the back and flew a couple of feet. Her sword slid in the opposite direction. Itachi moved between her and the blade. Itachi just stood there patiently. As she was getting up, she did a barely noticeable set of hand signs which Itachi's sharingan easily picked up. She whispered to herself. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Nothing seemed to have happened; the clones were no where in sight. –I saw her make the signs, so where are the clones?-

"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" she screamed as a large ball of flames erupted from her mouth. Itachi planned to simply dodge the ball, when suddenly two hands reached out from the ground trying to get his legs. He jumped away from the hands and was taken by surprise by another clone trying to slice him with the sword. He barely dodged that one. She managed to cut a noticeable part of his pony tail away. He quickly kicked the clone, who then poofed away, along with the hands underground. In the corner was the real Hinote, who was panting. She had used a lot of chakra on that attack and all she managed to do was give him a hair cut. Everyone was amazed that she had come so close to actually wounding him. Better than anyone there could do, that's for sure. Even the leader was mildly surprised. Itachi put on his trademark poker face and walked up to her. He leant over and placed his hand under his chin. He then whispered to her.

"You are weak, but not hopeless. I see potential in you." He then spoke louder to the leader. "She passes."


	8. Swordsmen Of The Mist

Finally a friggin' update! I think it's been over a year!! XD I was reading this and I actually noticed how much I used to suck at writing, but I think I've gotten better. Over the summer I started 3 different fanfictions that I think you'd all enjoy. Thanks for reading and it looks like it's going to be Deidara, but I'll pair her up with both and just have fun with it…lol. Oh and I'm changing it to 1st person P.O.V. Hinote's more specifically. That's all and thanks for being so patient with me. -Gaarafan0509

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"'Weak but not hopeless', you ignorant ass!" Hinote spoke while sitting back up. Itachi didn't say anything and just walked away with the others, leaving only Kouten and Kisame behind.

"That was horrible." Kisame spoke. "You're a disgrace to the Swordsmen of the Mist." I was expecting for Kouten to defend me but she merely nodded.

"It's true. You do have potential, and we plan to exploit it in the next few days." Kouten spoke. "Because honestly, you suck."

"Thanks." I replied sarcastically. They were harsh, but that was what I had expected anyways.

"You should consider yourself lucky that Itachi passed you, it's completely unlike him to do that, unless he saw something in you that we couldn't." Kisame spoke. "But none the less you did, and so it's our job to make you a full-fledged sword wielder."

"So training starts tomorrow at 6, better than 4 so don't complain. And to be honest, I won't be too far ahead of you, I've been slacking for the past 4 years." Kouten spoke reassuringly.

"Ha, you would, you were probably busy with other physical activities weren't you?" Kisame spoke with a perverted grin. Kouten just blushed and I thought the whole thing was quite funny, but still I felt awkward being in the conversation so I cleared my throat.

"Minor in the room!" I yelled. "So that's it? I'm done for the day?"

"Yep, unless you want to start sparring with Kouten here, I'm going out for a while so I can't help you." Kisame spoke. "So later." He spoke while walking out of the room. Kouten and I just looked at each other.

"I want you to come at me, taijutsu style, let's see what you've got." Kouten spoke with a smirk. I grinned and ran towards her eagerly. I started off with a simple punch to the jaw, but missed as Kouten ducked and dropkicked me. I simply fell over and spun around and did the same to her. She was expecting it however and bent over to grab my foot and hold me in the air with it. I was hanging upside-down, and I could hear her laughing.

"Could you let go of me, please?" I asked curiously.

"Get out of it yourself." Kouten spoke.

"Agh, fine." I then put my hands around her legs and attempted to throw her off balance, but it didn't work, I wasn't strong enough. "Ok, I'm a ninjutsu person, I never though of close handed combat as necessary until now."

"So basically without chakra, you're screwed." Kouten spoke.

"Yup." I responded.

"Well try this. I want you to use my body as leverage to swing yourself around kick me in the chest, either that or try and bring my foot around with you as you spin." I did as I was told, and I managed to knock her back while I landed on my feet and stood back up.

"That wasn't so hard, the human body is by far the most diverse machine ever created, you have to unlock its hidden powers and use them at their maximum potential. Your life usually hangs in the balance of this." Kouten spoke, rather seriously. I listened intently as she went over a long list of exercises that she wanted to do, how many reps. and all that other stuff. We trained like this together until about 6:00 that day, we were both exhausted and hungry. According to Kouten, I had already made significant progress after one day, which was good.

"So, did you bother finding out where the kitchen was?" Kouten asked.

"I thought that you were supposed to." I spoke, alarmed. I had eaten two of the apples that I had brought with me just in case I was delayed on my mission, but I had only 1 left. I then heard her laugh.

"I'm just messing with you, what do you feel like eating? I'm not the best of cooks but I'm sure we'll manage. C'mon let's go." She spoke while holding out her hand to me. I gladly took it and stood up and we walked out into the quiet hallway. We took a few turns here and there; I memorized it easily, until we approached a small kitchen. There we saw a figure moving at rapid pace, trying to cook a gazillion things at one time. We just watched as the woman let out a breath and continued working, apparently too caught up to notice anything. Kouten began walking over to her until I suddenly felt this weird feeling in my stomach. It usually meant something bad about to happen. I opened my mouth to speak, but it was too late. Within the blink of an eye, the woman had thrown several kitchen knives at us. Kouten caught hers while I dodged mine and watched as it embedded itself if the cabinet behind him.

"What the Hell was that for?" I asked while pulling out the knife.

"Don't just stand there and gawk, make yourself useful and chop those vegetables for me." She replied. Kouten just laughed and walked over to the carrots and began cutting them. I decided it would be best for me to do the same and began chopping celery.

"So you're Kouten and Hinote, right?" she asked as we both responded with curt _Hais_. "Well my name is Konako, the only female member of the Akatsuki until you two showed up, thank God." She responded with a small chuckle.

"So are you usually the only one in here during dinner time?" I asked.

"Itachi helps out every once in a while." She replied.

"I could seriously see him standing right here in a frilly pink apron, making small talk with you two." I spoke, failing to hold in a chuckle. I soon began to laugh full out, wow, that'd be the greatest. But soon I realized that on one else was laughing and I felt 3 pairs of eyes on me. Yeah, 3 pairs, for Itachi had just entered the room the second before I had said my little joke.


End file.
